Double structure cup

ABSTRACT

A double structure cup is disclosed, which is characterized in that a plurality of polygonal male protrusions are protruded from a bottom surface of the inner cup in a downward direction, and a plurality of concave protrusions are formed and engaged with the male protrusions on a bottom surface of the outer cup in an upward direction, so that as the male protrusions are engaged with the concave protrusions, the inner cup does not rotate along with the lid when the lid is rotated for opening and closing.

This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 11/966,825, filed Dec.28, 2007 and claims priority to Korean patent application KR10-2007-83081, filed Aug. 18, 2007, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a double structure cup, and inparticular to a double structure cup in which an inner cup and an outercup are engaged in a polygonal protrusion engagement structure. So, whena lid is opened or closed by rotating the lid, an inner cup does notrotate along with the lid while keeping an engaged state with the outercup.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a cup is used as a receptacle for storing beverage or liquidfood or being used when drinking something. It has a certain thicknessand an open upper side.

The above cup stores hot coffee, tea or milk or stores cold beverage.

The conventional cup has problems that a user may be damaged by hot heatas the heat of the stuff of the cup is transferred to the hands of auser. The user may drop a hot cup, thereby causing a burn.

In the conventional cup, an exclusive mold is made for forming variouspatterns or designs on an outer surface of the cup. A cutting processmay be performed for forming a certain advertisement character. Once acertain pattern or design is formed on an outer surface of the cup, itis impossible to change the same. It costs too much for manufacturing amold and forming a pattern and design.

In order to overcome the above problems, an adiabatic layer is formedbetween an inner cup and an outer cup by using air. Namely, a doublestructure cup is developed for blocking a heat transfer from the hotstuffs of the cup to the hands of a user.

In addition, the outer cup is transparent, and a decoration sheet oradvertisement sheet (insertion sheet) with various patterns and designsis inserted between the inner and outer cups for manufacturing varioustypes of products. In the above double structure cup, it is possible tochange the insertion sheet.

In the conventional double structure cup, as the inner and outer cupsrotate, the double structure cup is assembled or disassembled. Aninsertion sheet is inputted into a space between the inner cup and atransparent outer cup, and the upper side of the inner cup is opened andclosed through a lid.

When opening or closing the conventional double structure cup byrotating the lid, the inner cup is not fixed to the outer cup, namely,it rotates idle, so that opening and closing the lid are not easy. Inorder to overcome the above problems, the inner and outer cups areassembled while being not well rotated. In this case, exchanging theinsertion sheet is not easy, and assembling and disassembling works arenot easy.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide adouble structure cup in which an inner cup and an outer cup are engagedin a polygonal protrusion engagement method, and when a lidthread-engaged to an inner cup is rotated to open or close, the innercup does not rotate along with the lid while keeping engaged to theouter cup, so that it is easy to open and close the lid, and anadvertisement insertion sheet may be inserted into a space between theinner and outer cups.

To achieve the above objects, in a double structure cup which includesan inner cup for storing a certain stuff with its upper side being open,an outer cup which is spaced apart from the inner cup while surroundingthe same and being engaged thereto, and a lid thread-engaged to an upperside of the inner cup for opening and closing the same, there isprovided a double structure cup characterized in that a plurality ofpolygonal male protrusions are protruded from a bottom surface of theinner cup in a downward direction, and a plurality of concaveprotrusions are formed and engaged with the male protrusions on a bottomsurface of the outer cup in an upward direction, so that as the maleprotrusions are engaged with the concave protrusions, the inner cup doesnot rotate along with the lid when the lid is rotated for opening andclosing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become better understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustrationand thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein;

FIG. 1 is an assembled cross sectional view of a double structure cupaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are front cross sectional and bottom views of an innercup of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front cross sectional and bottom views of an outercup of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a lid of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an assembled cross sectional view of a double structure cupaccording to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the protrusion of FIG. 5.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The construction and operation of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an assembled cross sectional view of a double structure cupaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2A and 2B arefront cross sectional and bottom views of an inner cup of FIG. 1, FIGS.3A and 3B are front cross sectional and bottom views of an outer cup ofFIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a front view of a lid of FIG. 1.

As shown therein, the double structure cup according to the presentinvention comprises an inner cup 100, an outer cup 200, a lid 300 and aninsertion sheet 400.

The inner cup 100 is cylindrical and has a side surface 110 and a bottomsurface 120 with an upper side of the same being open for storing acertain stuff. The side surface 110 is gradually narrowed in a downwarddirection.

The inner cup 100 stores a certain stuff such as hot coffee, tea, milkor something or stores a certain stuff such as cold beverage.

The side surface 110 of the inner cup is provided with a female threadpart 111 formed along an inner circumferential surface andthread-engaged with the lid 300, a step part 112 inwardly formed at theupper end of the same, and a bent part 113 formed on the upper side ofthe same and bent in an upside down cup shape in an outward direction.

A certain space 114 is formed between the side surface 110 of the innercup and the bent part 113 with its lower end being open. The upper endof the side surface 210 of the outer cup is inserted into the space 114.

A male protrusion 121 is protruded from a lower side in the bottomsurface 120 of the inner cup in a polygonal shape. The male protrusion121 is formed of an outer protrusion 121 a and an inner protrusion 121b, and a contraction prevention groove 122 is formed between the outerand inner protrusions 121 a and 121 b for preventing contraction duringan ejection molding work. An engaging groove 123 is formed at the centerof the inner protrusion 121 b, and the outer wall surface of the outerprotrusion 121 a is gradually narrowed in a downward direction.

The inner cup 100 is preferably made of a synthetic resin, stainlesssteel, china, glass, wooden or something. More preferably, a ceramichollow ball capable of preventing a heat conduction is mixed with resinand is foam-molded. A material combined with the ceramic hollow ballsand paint is coated on the surface of the inner cup for therebyobtaining an adiabatic effect.

The outer cup 200 includes a side surface 210 and a bottom surface 220and is formed in a cylindrical shape with its upper side being open. Theside surface 210 is gradually narrowed in a downward direction andsurrounds the inner cup 100 while being spaced by a certain space 510from the inner cup 100. The upper side of the outer cup 200 is insertedinto the space 114 formed by means of a bent part 113 of the inner cup100.

A step part 211 is outwardly formed on an upper side of the side surface210 of the outer cup. When the upper side of the outer cup 200 isinserted into the space 114 formed between the side surface 110 of theinner cup and the bent part 113, the step part 211 supports the end ofthe bent part 113.

A polygonal concave protrusion 221 is formed on the upper side of thebottom surface 220 of the outer cup, and a male protrusion 121 is formedon the bottom surface 120 of the inner cup for thereby being engagedwith the concave protrusion 221.

The inner side surface of the concave protrusion 221 is graduallynarrowed in a downward direction while corresponding to the outersurface of the outer protrusion 121 a formed in the bottom surface 120of the inner cup 100.

In the drawings of the present invention, the male protrusion 121 andthe concave protrusion 221 are formed in rectangular shapes. Any shapesuch as a triangle shape, a cross shape, a tooth shape or something ispossible only when it is able to prevent the rotation of the inner cup100 during the rotation of the lid 300 in a state that the inner andouter cups 100 and 200 are engaged.

The bottom surface 220 of the outer cup 200 is formed of an engaginggroove 222 and an engaging hole 223 so that it is vertically matchedwith the engaging groove 123 of the inner surface 120 of the inner cup.

The bottom surface 220 of the outer cup 200 and the bottom surface 120of the inner cup 100 are fixedly engaged with an engaging member 500.Here, as the engaging member 500, a bolt/nut, screws or something may beused. In case that they are engaged using a bolt/nut, the nut ispositioned in the engaging groove 123 of the inner cup 100 and isengaged with a bolt which is externally inserted through the engaginghole 223. Here, the head of the bolt is protruded from the engaginggroove 123 through the engaging hole 223 in a state that it ispositioned in the engaging groove 222 of the outer cup 200.

When they are engaged using screws without using the nut, a femalethread part (not shown) is formed on the inner circumferential surfacesof the bottom surfaces 220 and 120 in which the engaging hole 223 andthe engaging groove 123 are formed. At this time, the head of the threadis positioned in the engaging groove 222 of the outer cup 220.

In a state that the inner and outer cups 100 and 200 are engaged witheach other, a hollow space 510 is formed between the inner cup 100 andthe outer cup 200. A heat conduction of the stuffs stored in the innercup 100 is disconnected by means of the hollow space 510, so that it ispossible to keep beverage such as coffee hot for a long time. Since theheat is not transferred to the outer cup 200, a user can easily hold thecup.

An insertion sheet (advertisement sheet or personal photo or image) isrolled and inserted into the hollow space 510 between the inner cup 100and the outer cup 200. When the outer cup 200 is made of a transparentsynthetic resin or a glass material, since the stuffs of the insertionsheet 400 can be seen from the outside, it is possible to obtain anadvertisement effect.

An engaging part 310 having a packing groove 311 is downwardly protrudedin the lid 300 for engaging a packing 520 wherein the lid 300 is openedor closed by rotating the same on the upper side of the inner cup 100. Amale thread part 312 is formed along an outer circumferential side ofthe engaging part 310, so that it is engaged with the female thread part111 of the inner cup 100.

The inner cup 100 is pushed into the upper side of the outer cup 200,and the insertion sheet 400 with an advertisement or photo is rolled andinserted into the space between the inner cup 100 and the outer cup 200.

The upper side of the outer cup 220 is inserted into the space 114 ofthe upper side of the inner cup, and a polygonal male protrusion 121protruded on the bottom surface 120 of the inner cup is inserted intothe interior of the polygonal concave protrusion 221 protruded upwardly,and the bottom surface 120 of the inner cup and the bottom surface 200of the outer cup are engaged through the engaging hole 223 and theengaging grooves 222 and 123 by using the engaging member 500 such asbolt/nut or screws. So, even when the lid 300 is rotated, the inner cup100 does not rotate along with the lid 300.

The packing 520 is inserted into the engaging groove 222 of the outercup 200 in which the engaging member 500 is inserted, and the space 114of the inner cup 100 engaged with the upper side of the side surface 210of the outer cup for thereby obtaining a waterproof effect.

The lid 300 is thread-engaged to the upper side of the side surface 110of the inner cup 100 after the inner and outer cups 100 and 200 areengaged for thereby finishing an assembling work of the double structurecup. Here, the packing 520 is inserted between the packing groove 311and the step part 112 corresponding to the engaging portion of the lid300 for thereby obtaining a waterproof effect.

In the double structure cup according to the present invention, sincethe space 510 is formed between the inner and outer cups 100 and 200, itis possible to prevent a heat conduction, and when the cup is opened orclosed by rotating the lid 300, the inner and outer cups 100 and 200 areengaged with the polygonal protrusions 121 and 221 and are furthersecured by means of the engaging member 500, so that the inner cup 100does not rotate idle, whereby it is possible to easily open and closethe lid 300.

The size of the concave protrusion 221 is equal to or smaller than themale protrusion 121, so that the male protrusion 121 is tightly insertedinto the concave protrusion 221 for thereby engaging the inner and outercups 100 and 200. If necessary, the engaging member 500 may be omitted.The same functions as the above described function may be obtained byallowing the male protrusion 121 and the concave protrusion 221 to beopposite to each other.

FIG. 5 is a partial assembled cross sectional view illustrating a doublestructure cup according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In case that the inner cup 100 is made of stainless steel, not asynthetic resin, since it is impossible to form the male protrusion 121on the bottom surface 120, a polygonal male protrusion 131 is formed forseparately manufacturing a stainless steel plate 130 and inserting intothe concave protrusion 221 of the outer cup 200. The engaging groove 133is formed at the center of the same, and the flange 132 is fixed at thebottom surface 120 of the inner cup 100 by means of a welding method.The polygonal male protrusion 131 is seen in FIG. 6.

The inner and outer cups 100 and 200 are engaged using the engagingmember 500 such as bolt/nut or screws.

As described above, the present invention is directed to doublestructure cup which is able to effectively store a certain amount ofbeverage or liquid stuff, while substantially preventing a heatconduction, for thereby obtaining a heat and cold storing effect.

In addition, in the present invention, when the lid thread-engaged tothe inner cup is rotated for opening or closing the cup, the inner cupdoes not rotate along with the lid while keeping being fixed to theouter cup, so that it is possible to easily open and close the lid. Theinner and outer cups can be easily assembled or disassembled, and acertain insertion sheet can be inserted into a space between the innerand outer cups for an advertisement, and the inserted sheet can beeasily exchanged with new one.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, itshould also be understood that the above-described examples are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsspirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore allchanges and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of theclaims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intendedto be embraced by the appended claims.

1. A double wall cup, comprising: an inner cup made of stainless steel;a lid thread engaged to an upper side of the inner cup for opening andclosing the inner cup by rotating the lid; an outer cup made oftransparent material for visibly seeing a printed content of aninsertion sheet inserted between the inner cup and the outer cup anddetachable from the inner cup for easily exchanging the insertion sheet;a couple of flanges made of a material being able to be welded to abottom surface of the inner cup, the flanges welded to the bottomsurface; a stainless steel plate including a main protrusion having arectangular bottom surface bent and downwardly protruded from betweenthe flanges, and an engaging hole formed at a center portion of the mainprotrusion; a nut engaged by matching with the engaging hole in an innerside of the male protrusion; a rectangular concave groove protrusionformed in an inner bottom portion of the outer cup and accommodating themain protrusion for thereby prevent rotation of the inner cup; and anengaging member which is thread engaged to a lower side of the outer cupthrough the engaging hole.
 2. A double wall cup, comprising: an innercup having a sidewall and a bottom wall; a first protrusion extendingdownwardly from the inner cup bottom wall, the first protrusion havingat least one straight wall; an outer cup having a sidewall and a bottomwall, the outer cup surrounding the inner cup; and a second protrusionextending upwardly from the outer cup bottom wall, the second protrusionhaving a recess, the first protrusion fitting within the recess toprevent rotation of the inner cup relative to the outer cup.
 3. Thedouble wall cup of claim 2, wherein the first protrusion is formed by aU-shaped member having a bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls extendingupwardly from the bottom wall of the U-shaped member.
 4. The double wallcup of claim 3, wherein the first protrusion further comprises a flangeextending from each sidewall to attach the first protrusion to thebottom of the inner cup.
 5. The double wall cup of claim 3, furthercomprising: a first aperture in the bottom wall of the first protrusion;a second aperture in the bottom wall of the outer cup; and a fastenerextending through the first aperture and the second aperture.
 6. Thedouble wall cup of claim 5, further comprising a nut secured to thefastener.
 7. A double wall cup, comprising: an inner cup having asidewall and a bottom wall; a first protrusion extending from the innercup bottom wall, the first protrusion having at least one straight wall;an outer cup having a sidewall and a bottom wall, the outer cupsurrounding the inner cup; and a recess formed in the outer cup bottomwall, the first protrusion fitting within the recess to prevent rotationof the inner cup relative to the outer cup.
 8. The double wall cup ofclaim 7, wherein the first protrusion is formed by a U-shaped memberhaving a bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls extending upwardly from thebottom wall of the U-shaped member.
 9. The double wall cup of claim 8,wherein the first protrusion further comprises a flange extending fromeach sidewall to attach the first protrusion to the bottom of the innercup.
 10. The double wall cup of claim 8, further comprising: a firstaperture in the bottom wall of the first protrusion; a second aperturein the bottom wall of the outer cup; and a fastener extending throughthe first aperture and the second aperture.
 11. The double wall cup ofclaim 10, further comprising a nut secured to the fastener.